A real world experience with fiverr jobs

Foreword:

This is the second article I paid to get written by a freelancer on firverr.com about his experience with fiverr. He asked me not to link to his account and was unwilling to provide his full name.

You can find the first fiverr.com freelancer story here.

Without further ado, please read the story of a successful freelancer on fiverr.

In the beginning

Being a freelancer can be a tasking endeavor. From sourcing clients to maintaining a steady stream of fiverr jobs and even handling the delivery/payment process, you definitely want to setup an efficient process that makes it easier to work without challenges.

As a writer or a creator of any kind, this can be particularly problematic seeing as your skills are better suited to the actual creation process and not necessarily for marketing and client acquisition. It therefore becomes advantageous to position yourself as an authority in a manner that helps clients find you faster while giving you access to top notch jobs suited to your particular skills.

Fiverr is a highly reputable platform built as a marketplace for both freelancers and buyers across all industries to connect, meet and collaborate seamlessly. It serves as an online meeting point that enables freelancers to setup shop and attract buyers to their profiles without having to do the work of lead generation.

Not only does it allow fresh freelancers who are new to their craft an opportunity to get started and build their reputation, it also provides experienced industry experts who have been building their trades for quite a while to further spread their wings and gain dominance by attracting more clients. This fairness makes it an excellent place for freelancers to work as just about anyone can gain enough visibility to kick-start a successful freelancing career.

The Fiverr platform

As the name implies, Fiverr started off as a marketplace for $5 jobs known as gigs, where freelancers could put up their offerings at a maximum rate of $5 and get paid upon completion. However, there has been a massive change ever since the early days of Fiverr and sellers are now provided the liberty to set their prices up to $10,000 with a maximum delivery time of 30 days.

Needless to say, this change opened up new avenues for freelancers who offer higher paying services to become active on the platform and setup virtual offices where they could get found. There really are no limits or restrictions to the number and kind of services sellers can offer on Fiverr.

If it is a digital task that can be completed without physical contact, then Fiverr is undoubtedly the place for it. The variety of sellers offering the same exact services for different prices and qualities makes it an industry favorite, thereby giving it a competitive advantage, a factor that is responsible for the daily massive traffic the site attracts.

From services like graphic design, video editing and animations to offerings like website design and software/android development to even more niche and whimsical services like casting love spells and getting relationship advice, Fiverr is pretty much the one-stop-shop for any and all kinds of digital solution.

The question then remains, how easy is it for a freelancer to get started on Fiverr and build a reputation of excellence? In this unbelievably competitive marketplace, one must maintain a certain level of resilience and consistency in order to successfully grow and eventually become established as a talented freelancer to work with.

How I got started on fiverr

Having a passion for writing that started long before I discovered what it meant to get paid for it was a huge driving force that enabled me develop my skill offline. Not only did this avail me the opportunity to work with clients, it provided the learning process I needed to build a portfolio of completed fiverr jobs; a factor that helped me greatly in my freelancing journey.

As I got more and more experienced in writing, I started researching the internet for opportunities where writers could connect with clients and get paid for their work. After this, it was pretty easy to find Fiverr and create my very own profile. This was undoubtedly a huge step for me as I had read all kinds of reviews prior to signing up. Setting up my profile was quite easy, all I needed to do was follow the signup process and provide details including a profile picture, some descriptions about my services and what I intended to offer along with completing a verification step that required me to provide a valid ID.

Fiverr's tier system and its level of competition

I officially became a Fiverr seller in February, 2015 and I learned soon enough that this was nowhere all I needed to do. As opposed to the impression I had that I would immediately begin connecting with clients actively looking to buy my gigs, I discovered that new sellers had to do a bit of work to get themselves out there and known on the platform.

I realized that Fiverr has a tier system namely; New seller, Level 1, Level 2 and the Top Rated Seller Status ( a group of elite sellers handpicked by Fiverr representatives based on set requirements ).

It took me approximately 3 months to attain the Level 1 status as not only did I have to spend 60 days as a seller on Fiverr, I also had to satisfy other requirements like completing 10 orders during this period and receiving no warnings due to Terms of Service violation.

A wobbly start with fiverr jobs

This was not the hard part as I had always prided myself in being a straight shooter who always followed the rules. However, things got off to a rocky start as I encountered a difficult client who happened to be the first client I ever got. There was a bit of miscommunication which eventually ended with a cancelation of the order. I took a hit. My Fiverr profile took a hit too and I was in despair.

Eventually I dusted myself off and moved on to the Buyers Request section where sellers/freelancers can go to bid on new fiverr jobs from clients looking to hire. The cancelled order certainly didn’t help me but it didn’t stop me either. In less than a week, I got a new order after having exhausted my 10 daily bidding opportunities every single day. This time around, I knew I had to be very careful in order to get the stellar review I wanted. It came through and it was all uphill from there.

The 3 month duration it took for me to earn my level 1 status brought me a total earning of $500+. Of course, I didn’t get to keep all of my earnings as Fiverr took a 20% cut on every order. This figure was not spread across all 3 months as the first month ended with neither a single order nor earning made. The second and third months were different and things got progressively better as I started to complete more jobs on fiverr and get more 5 star reviews. At the time, I started off with all my basic gigs at $5 and a 24-hour delivery period in order to maintain competitiveness and attract clients to my profile.

Attaining level 2 seller status

The next milestone I set out to achieve was the level 2 seller status. I still hadn’t started getting orders or inquiries directly from clients and my hope was that getting to the next level would make this happen. To do this, I had to complete 50 orders. Needless to say, this was a much more difficult mission than getting to level one but when it did eventually happen, I had gotten a large network of repeat clients coming back to patronize me and buy my gigs regularly.

It is important to note that certain gigs and orders were in higher demand than others and I found myself writing more sales copies and corporate emails than articles. By the time I had completed the requirements and had earned more than $2000, I got bumped up to level 2 and there was a dramatic change in the traction my profile was getting. I suddenly got more exposure, more visibility and the initial difficulty I had with getting orders started fading away. Clients were beginning to contact me out of the blue as my gigs were showing up on listings and I could now chose what fiverr jobs to take and what fiverr jobs to filter out based on my competence.

Customer support

Perhaps the best resource a new seller can use is the customer support. Fiverr’s customer support is highly accessible and provides all of the information one could ever need if stuck in a pickle. Knowing there was an actual team ready to look into my concerns helped me approach each task fearlessly as I could work within my range of competence and resolve issues properly.

Is selling on Fiverr worth it?

Absolutely yes!

If you are a freelancer worth your salt then you can definitely carve a niche for yourself and let your track record speak for you. The ultimate goal for every seller on Fiverr is to attain the Top rated seller status and I’m glad to say that this is very well in sight for me. To do this, one must have earned a total of $20,000 with a minimum of 100 total orders alongside a wide variety of other requirements.

For me personally, Fiverr has worked out great and I believe it is an amazing way for freelancers to sell their skills while diversifying their client acquisition strategies. All you need to do is follow the rules to the letter, remain consistent and try as much as you can to generate high quality work and you will be well on your way to generating a steady stream of income decided solely by you.